


I May Fall

by Haikyuufan



Category: RWBY
Genre: Epilepsy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-26
Updated: 2019-03-26
Packaged: 2019-12-18 09:34:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18247166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haikyuufan/pseuds/Haikyuufan
Summary: A volume 7 prediction fic with a twist. What if Ruby had epilepsy? How would that change what's going to happen in volume 7?  (Chapter 1 written for Epilepsy Awareness Day 2019)





	I May Fall

**Author's Note:**

> Epilepsy as depicted in this fic is based off of my personal experiences and is not a one size fits all description

As they approached Atlas, Ruby stared in awe at the city in front of them. It was beautiful. But then, she felt her jaw clench.  _ Nonononononono. Not here. Not now, _ she thought in a panic, trying to open her mouth, to breathe, to do  _ anything _ . But she couldn’t. The best she could do was to try to make some sort of noise, something to alert Yang or Qrow to her predicament. She let out a strangled sort of sound as her vision faded to black, and she felt herself start to fall, losing consciousness before she hit the ground. 

 

When she came to, she was surrounded by eight worried faces.”Wha’ happ’nd?” she groaned.

 

“What happened?!” Weiss asked incredulously, “What do you  _ mean _ what happened?! I’d think you’d remember something like that!”

 

“Well she doesn’t, Weiss,” Yang said coldly. “She _ never _ does. At least not right away, so give her some space, all of you, and back off.”

 

“Oh,” Ruby realized. “Oh no. Did I…?” she trailed off, not wanting to utter the words and have her fears confirmed.

 

“‘Fraid so, kid,” Qrow spoke up. 

 

“And ev’ryone…” she trailed off again, looking around at the worried faces and not needing to finish the question to know the answer.

 

“Saw and freaked out?” Yang supplied anyway. “Yep,” she confirmed popping the “p”.  “You’re extremely lucky Qrow and I were here. Vomit boy’s  _ brilliant _ instincts told him to hold you down, so you’re welcome for saving you both from being injured by his stupidity.”

 

“That’s not entirely fair,” Ren pointed out, as calmly as he could, though even in her groggy state, Ruby could that he was shaken. “Most people don’t know first aid for a seizure, and Jaune had no reason to suspect he’d need it.”

 

“Ruby has epilepsy, kid,” Qrow informed Ren, voice tense, but not unkind. “It would’ve made sense to know some basic first aid for it.”

 

“She never told us,” Nora spoke up, voice a bit weak. 

 

“She never told  _ us _ ,” Weiss spoke up, voice stronger, “I thought we made this clear when Blake ran away Ruby! If you have an issue, you share it with your team. What if Yang hadn’t been here?!”

 

“Enough,” Blake spoke up. “I may not be an expert, but I’m pretty sure all this arguing is the  _ last _ thing Ruby needs right now.”

 

“What  _ do _ you need right now Ruby?” Oscar asked curiously. 

 

“Sleep ‘n’ water,” Ruby slurred, tired, and thirsty, and still not having any of her motor skills back.

 

“And her meds,” Yang supplied. “Where’d you put them Rubes?” Ruby pointed shakily to her bag. Jaune hurried over to her bag and pulled out the bottle of medication, down to it’s last four pills. Yang stared at the bottle in horror. 

 

“Ruby…” she asked slowly. “When were you planning on telling us you were low on meds?” Ruby shrugged sloppily. “Why didn’t you tell anybody?” Yang asked.

 

“Di’n’t wan’ anyone to worry,” Ruby said. “I can handle m’self.”

 

“Oh yeah, because that turned out real well, didn’t it Ruby?” Yang shook her head in exasperation as she handed Ruby two pills and helped her drink some water. “First thing we’re doing when we land is getting you more medication. Got it?”

 

Ruby felt shame well up in her. She really did think she was saving everyone the worry but now they were all terrified, and Weiss was mad, and it was all her fault. 

 

“I’m not mad, Ruby,” Weiss said softly, kneeling next to her. Huh. She must’ve said that aloud. “I’m worried, and I wish I would’ve known so I could  _ help _ . You’re my  _ partner _ Ruby, and partners take care of each other. So from now on, if you have a problem I want you to let me  _ know. _ ”

 

“Okay,” Ruby nodded, letting herself fall towards Weiss a bit. Weiss moved forward to prevent her from actually falling, and made eye contact with Yang above her head, who nodded in approval. Weiss was doing the right thing, and Yang wasn’t going to stop her from offering help.

“We’re landing,” Maria called from up front. Yang scooped Ruby up into her arms, prepared to carry her until they got someplace she could lay down. Jaune tapped her on the shoulder.

 

“Let me carry her,” he offered. “If I use my semblance, maybe it’ll help her feel a little better until we can get her somewhere safe and comfortable.” Yang looked at him skeptically. “I just want to help,” he pleaded, and Yang’s expression softened. 

 

“Be careful with her, okay?” Yang said, handing Ruby over to Jaune gently. 

 

“I will,” Jaune nodded.

 

“I’m gonna go pick up her medication,” Qrow said as they landed. “You kids go find a hotel or somewhere safe for us to stay, I’ll catch up with you later.”

 

Yang looked worriedly between Ruby and Qrow, before Maria spoke up. 

 

“You kids go ahead,” she reassured them. “I’ll go with him, make sure he doesn’t get lost. Or drunk. Or both!” she said, laughing to herself. Yang nodded gratefully and followed Jaune as he led the others away.

 

“Wait…” Weiss spoke up hesitantly. “I know someplace we can stay. It’s not the Schnee mansion, so we still have time to plan how to confront my father and General Ironwood, but it’s bound to be more comfortable than a hotel.” 

 

The next thing Yang knew, they were being appraised by Weiss’s sister. 

 

“I know this is a lot to ask, Winter, but Ruby really needs someplace better than a hotel to stay right now,” Weiss pleaded. “I know that you and Qrow don’t exactly get along but-”

 

“But his nieces are your friends, you can all stay here,” Winter interrupted her. “Even the drunk himself. I may not like him, but I am not so cruel as to decline his nieces basic comforts because of it. And I’m sure that at a time like this, basic comforts includes him as well.”

 

“Thank you so much!” Weiss hugged her sister tightly, who patted her back and smiled fondly down at her. 

 

“Let me show you all to your rooms,” Winter told them all once Weiss had released her. Jaune carried Ruby up the stairs, and laid her on one of the beds in what Winter had decided would be team RWBY’s room during their stay. “I figured you’d all want to be near your friend,” Winter said quietly to Weiss as she walked out of the room to show the others to their room. Weiss smiled gratefully up at her sister, though her smile was still tense with worry for Ruby. As Ruby drifted off to sleep, Yang spoke up from where she had sat down on the bed opposite her sister’s. 

 

“She’ll be fine,” Yang reassured Blake and Weiss, clearing some of the tension in the room. “Qrow and I were there, we knew how to take care of her, she’ll be fine. Sore for a while probably, but fine. Heck, I bet we have an hour or two before she wakes up and tries to start exploring Atlas. She won’t be quite ready for it yet, but she’s sure as hell gonna try.” Yang laughed, but she was still tense.

 

“I’m glad Ruby is going to be okay,” Blake said, sitting down next to Yang and squeezing her hand reassuringly. “She had us all worried. You seemed just as scared as the rest of us earlier though. Are you okay?”

 

“I’m...fine,” Yang said. “I just… I’ve been a terrible sister. I let Ruby run off without me with three people who didn’t know she had epilepsy. I tried to be on any team  _ but  _  Ruby’s at Beacon because I wanted her to make more friends, but I thought she’d  _ tell _ someone. And now I’m realizing that she won’t, and that scares me. Ruby can handle herself, I know that, and I’ll fight you both if you  _ dare _ to treat her differently now that you know, but… she doesn’t always know when a seizure is coming on, or she tries to fight it if she does. I can’t stop her from getting into fights, at this point none of us really have much of a choice, but she’s not always going to be somewhere as safe as an airship when a seizure happens. And I almost left her to deal with all of that alone because I was having a pity party for myself.”

 

“First of all, I would hardly call what you did  _ having a pity party _ ,” Weiss scoffed. “You were learning to deal with your own problems, there is  _ nothing _ to be ashamed of there.” Yang smiled gratefully at her. “And secondly, you said it yourself. Ruby can handle herself. You don’t know that she wouldn’t have told anyone about her having epilepsy eventually if you weren’t around. She might’ve told the others when she started running low on medication. She might not have. But she didn’t  _ have to  _  because you eventually did show up. She knew you would take care of her if something happened where she couldn’t take care of herself. I think that says a lot more about what a  _ good _ sister you are if anything.”

 

“Thanks Weiss,” Yang smiled up at her teammate. “That helps a lot.”

 

“Good,” Weiss smiled at Yang. “Because I’m pretty sure Ruby wouldn’t be happy if she woke up and found you were beating yourself up over what-ifs that didn’t even happen.”

 

Yang genuinely laughed at that. “You’re right. She’d never forgive me for that.”

 

“Why don’t we see if we can go make some cookies for when she wakes up?” Blake suggested. 

 

“That’s a good idea, but you guys go ahead,” Yang told them. “I think I’ll stay here until she wakes up.” Blake looked at Yang searchingly before nodding.

 

“Let us know if you guys need anything,” Blake said, as she and Weiss left the room.

 

“Thanks, I will,” Yang said, pulling out her scroll and settling in to wait for Ruby to wake up.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> If you have any questions about epilepsy, feel free to ask me in the comments.  
> Good resources to learn more are  
> www.epilepsy.com
> 
> and 
> 
> www.talkaboutit.org


End file.
